My name is Abbie (@cheerfullylive) and in May 2019 I was finally diagnosed with endometriosis after a 9 year battle with pain. If you aren’t aware, endometriosis is a chronic and debilitating condition where cells similar to the ones in the lining of the womb are found elsewhere on the body. These cells breakdown and bleed, causing painful periods, as well as possible infertility, fatigue, bowel and bladder problems, as…
Knowledge Centre
How to Detect Ovulation – 5 Top Tips
Read moreIf you have regular periods, it is a good sign that you are ovulating (releasing eggs), and that you have a chance of getting pregnant in each cycle. Your egg is capable of being fertilised 12 to 24 hours after ovulation, which may seem like a dauntingly short time to get the egg and sperm to meet. Despite this, sperm can survive in the female genital tract for up to…
Genetic Screening – Answers About Your Genetic Health
Read moreThere are several reasons why you might want to have genetic screening when trying for a baby, and there are a couple of different ways to go about it. Genetic screening can be helpful if you are struggling to get pregnant, or are suffering recurrent miscarriages, or even if you have a genetic condition that runs in your family. If you know that you have a genetic condition that runs…
IVF Treatment: What To Expect
Read moreIf you’re struggling with infertility, or are a part of a same-sex couple looking to add some mini members to your family, you’ve probably heard of IVF treatment. As one of the most common forms of fertility treatments in the UK, understanding its process is extremely important before you leap into its depths. We get it, navigating the artificial fertility pathways can be both daunting and stressful. And wrapping your…
Hormonal Acne: The Culprits Behind Your Skin Stress
Read moreMaintaining healthy skin isn’t always as simple as skinsperts and bloggers may make it sound. Sometimes no matter how much money you spend in the lotion aisle, or how many fads you try, your dreams of perfect skin don’t come true. Often the culprits behind your skin complaints are your hormones which can cause hormonal acne and other skin stresses. The hormones in our body are balanced very meticulously, so even…
Menstrual Cycle Basics: What You Need To Know
Read moreWhen it comes to our menstrual cycles, usually it’s our periods that get all the air-time. But the menstrual cycle is actually made up of two separate cycles that each run from bleed to bleed (who knew?). Read on to learn everything you need to know about your cycle. Key takeaways: Your menstrual cycle is way more than just your period. It’s the time between the first day of your…
PMS or PMDD? Period Blues and Your Mental Health
Read morePremenstrual Syndrome (PMS) has been around as long as we’ve been having periods. But what used to be a taboo topic and often the butt of sexist jokes, is now an active point of conversation among women. With the period-related chat flowing, the door is finally open for researchers to give women the answers we’ve been waiting for, and it’s interesting to see the impact your cycle could be having…
Age and Fertility: Is Your ‘Biological Clock’ Ticking Away?
Read moreThe infamous “biological clock” concept, yet another social pressure to add to the modern woman’s life. What started as an undoubtedly sexist term in the seventies to push women into motherhood after a drop in fertility rates, has clung on to modern society’s ideals and still lingers around today… But does this mythical clock actually have any scientific evidence to prove that age and fertility are closely linked? Believe it…
PCOS & a Dermoid Cyst To Top It All Off
Read moreErratic periods I’ve always had a feeling something wasn’t quite right with my hormones. Nothing major… but something a little skew-whiff. Since I was a teenager I’ve had erratic periods. They’re on the light side, making me one of the lucky ones, but sometimes they won’t come for months. Once, just after my final exams at university, my period didn’t come for about 9 months. I’ve always been a normal…
How Your Fertility May Be Affected By Your Lifestyle
Read moreWe’re all guilty of having bad habits; smoking, drinking, over-indulging on the caffeine or stressing out over the simplest of things, these are common poor lifestyle choices we often make. But vices like these can not only impact your general health but your fertility too. 1 in 7 heterosexual couples in the UK experience fertility struggles and for those, modifying bad habits and lifestyle choices are the first step. Whilst…